Page 75 of Mafia Prince's Secret Baby

I inhale deeply, forcing myself to let it go—for now. “Make sure it doesn’t happen again. If I hearanything,I’ll burn this place to the ground.”

Maksim nods, jaw tight, and I turn to leave.

As I approach the car, Konstantin straightens up, the remnants of his broken nose still visible. “Any word on Katya?” I ask, trying to keep the worry from my voice.

“No,” he replies. “Our men are still looking.”

“Damn it,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair as I slide into the car. “We need to find her. Fast.”

“Put out a call,” I order, my voice clipped and sharp as I slide into the backseat. The door shuts behind me with a heavy thud, trapping me in my own growing anxiety. “Tell every one of our men to keep an eye out for her. Any sighting, no matter how small, they call me immediately.”

Konstantin nods, his face a mask of professionalism, but I can see the tension in his shoulders. He steps back from the door, pulling his phone from his pocket to relay my instructions.

I lean back, my leg bouncing uncontrollably as I settle into the seat. My pulse drums in my ears, drowning out the low hum of the engine.

“We’ll find her,” Konstantin says firmly, his voice cutting through the noise in my head. His certainty is unwavering, like an anchor I want to grab hold of but can’t quite reach.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, the sound jarring me. My heart leaps to my throat.Is it news?I snatch the phone, hope surging for a brief, fragile second. But when I see Aleks’s name flashing on the screen, my brow furrows. I swipe to answer, bringing the phone to my ear.

“I hope you have some good news,” I say, my voice strained. “Because my day has been full of shit.”

“Igor, it’s Katya,” Aleks says, and the concern in his voice instantly sends the world tilting sideways.

The air around me feels colder, sharper, and it’s like all the oxygen has been sucked from the car. My grip tightens on the phone, my knuckles turning white. “What do you mean, it’s Katya?”

“She’s in the hospital,” Aleks replies, his words measured but laced with urgency. “They found her in some shop in Midtown West. She was bleeding.”

“What do you mean,bleeding?” I bellow, the words tearing out of me. My voice feels distant, like it belongs to someone else. “What the fuck happened?”

“I don’t know yet,” he admits. “She’s at New York Lennox Health Center. I just got here. I’ll know more in ten minutes.”

“I’m on my way,” I bark, cutting the call without waiting for more.

“Where to?” Konstantin asks, turning toward me, his own concern bleeding into his typically neutral tone.

“First and 34th,” I growl, the words coming out like a snarl. My mind races, each thought worse than the last.

Was she attacked? Was it an accident? Why thefuckwould she leave the house alone? Did she want to avoid me that badly?

The more I think about it, the more the knot in my chest tightens.

I drum my fingers against the armrest, then switch to chewing my lower lip. My pulse is pounding, my head aching with the force of my thoughts crashing into each other. Every second feels like an eternity.

“What the fuck is taking so long?” I roar, slamming my fist against the seat. “Go faster, Konstantin. I need to get to Katya!”

“Shef, I’ve reached the speed limit,” Konstantin replies, his tone even, like he’s trying not to stoke the fire.

“Fuck the speed limit!” I bark. “I don’t care if you blow the damn engine—justgo faster!”

The silence in the car is oppressive. The only sounds are the steady thrum of the tires on the road and my own ragged breathing. My chest feels too tight, like it’s about to cave in.

My hand flies to the back of Konstantin’s seat, slamming against it in frustration. Once. Twice. Three times. The leather creaks, wearing under the force, but it doesn’t help.

Sweat drips down the back of my neck, cold and slick, as my phone buzzes again in my hand. The name flashing on the screen makes my stomach twist—Katarina.

I answer, trying to steady my voice. “Kata.”

“Hi,” she says warmly, unaware of the storm raging inside me. “Sofiya and Damien wanted to talk to you and Katya. Is this a good time for a video call?”